a. Copyediting and proofreading the final report

Your final research report will be copyedited in preparation for posting to the PCORI website. The copyeditors will format the report and make minimal edits for clarity. They will also look for inconsistencies in the report, like referring to the wrong table or omitting a literature citation. Occasionally, we will contact you to get information to complete copyediting.

In your final approval letter, you will be asked if you wish to review the report's copyedits before posting. Please indicate if you wish to review your edits by replying to your final acceptance letter, and we will make note of your preference and reach out to you once the file has gone through copyediting and formatting. Once you receive the copyedited version of the file, you have two weeks to review and respond with any comments.

The final, copyedited research report will be posted in a protected PDF format so that readers will be able to read the report but not alter it.

b. What's included when results are posted?

Your research results page will include several resources for readers interested in your project: the final research report; the summaries for the public and healthcare professionals; a summary of peer reviewers’ comments and your subsequent changes; the study protocol; and links to the site you chose to register your study on (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov).

View Currently Available Final Research Reports

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a. Ownership of copyright of the Final Research Report

The awardee, usually the institution or organization that received funding for the project, retains the copyright for the final research report. As referenced in the PCORI Standard Contract for Funded Research, "[The awardee institution] shall own the rights to . . . works created under the contract award. [Awardee] grants to PCORI [permission] to reproduce, publish, distribute, and disseminate [the works] created for public purposes that are consistent with PCORI’s mission and Authorizing Law."

PCORI adds a copyright statement at the end of the final research report, but the statement can be modified if your institution requires different language. The statement also includes a disclaimer stating that the work is the responsibility of the authors only and an acknowledgement that PCORI funded the work.

b. Publishing main results or Posting the Final Research Report

Our Process for Peer Review of Primary Research and Public Release of Research Findings policy calls for PCORI to post the full final research report within 12 months of the report’s final acceptance following peer review. We believe this is a reasonable timeframe, but we have built in some flexibility here for awardees whose papers are under revision after journal peer review or in press as that 12-month deadline approaches.

We share our awardees’ desire to publish the results of their funded work in a peer reviewed journal. Please note that many journals will not consider manuscripts containing results that are publicly available elsewhere. For this reason, PCORI encourages our awardees to submit their main results paper for publication as soon as possible after the study is done. To avoid disappointment, begin work early on any manuscript that you hope to publish.

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